Resources

By Samantha Enslen In celebration of the best holiday of the year — Halloween, of course — ACES has put together an editorial style sheet full of ghostly terms. So dip your pens in ink (or blood) and start copy editing content about the season. You’ll have the confidence of knowing you’re using devilishly correct…

By ACES Staff The following column is being reprinted from the Columbia Missourian, with permission. The Missourian is a daily print/digital community news organization directed by professional editors and staffed by students in the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Tom Warhover is executive editor for innovation at the Missourian. By Tom Warhover Dear Reader, Let’s…

By Gerri Berendzen As an editor, if you suspect plagiarism, you can use Google as an investigative tool. Things aren’t as simple, though, if you suspect fabrication in a story. Bill Connelly, a retired senior editor at The New York Times, said that “while the Internet has no doubt made the plagiarist’s crime both easier…

By Gerri Berendzen Plagiarism and fabrication have gotten a lot of press in the last year. Much of the discussion has centered on the crime and punishment angle — questions about specific instances of plagiarism and fabrication and if the resulting punishment was too tough or not tough enough. Then there are the whys of…

By ACES Staff A list with links to recent articles about media plagiarism and fabrication cases and issues. The list was compiled by ACES; summaries are taken from the linked articles. POYNTER’S CRAIG SILVERMAN WRITES THAT THERE WERE 31 INCIDENTS OF PLAGIARISM IN 2012: From Poynter.org: “2012 was the worst year for fabrication and plagiarism…

By Jan Leach The Internet changes almost everything, and journalism is no exception. But does it change journalism ethics? Now that newspapers, magazines and most traditional media organizations post news and information immediately to the Web, copy editors have even more responsibilities. They still ensure accuracy and fairness. They still check facts and flag conflicts.…

By Sue Burzynski Bullard Four editors who have handled breaking news online for their publications offer the following suggestions. Although their publications vary in size and format, they agreed on many of the same tips for online editing. The editors are: Steve Buttry, director of community engagement at tbd.com; Emily Ingram, overnight producer at The…

By Sue Burzynski Bullard When a blogger reported that University of Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez was quitting the team, editors at the Lincoln Journal Star had to decide quickly whether to publish the report. They were hearing the same buzz. Although social media networks like Twitter and Facebook were exploding with the Martinez story, none…

By John McIntyre Cement/concrete — The powder in a bag is cement. Concrete is the substance made from cement, water, sand and gravel If you’re not writing about a powder, don’t use cement. Exhaustive/exhausting – Exhaustive means thorough and complete — in the sense that a topic is exhausted, used up.Exhausting means profoundly tiring. Flack/flak…